"Will Africa stand firm in Hong Kong?"

No fear of failure: Will Africa stand firm in Hong Kong?
Deadlock. That’s the current state of trade negotiations in the lead up to a crucial World Trade Organisation meeting in Hong Kong from 13-18 December. Expect “rude battles and fierce negotiations” during the meeting, writes Demba Moussa Dembele, as the United States and European Union try their utmost to wrangle a deal that will give them license to loot. In the face of intense pressure, African trade ministers must remember the welfare of their people, stand firm and resist the heavy-handed tactics they will be subjected to, Dembele writes.

Benn defends aid for GM crops
Britain is to direct more foreign aid to develop genetically modified crops in Africa to speed up economic growth on the continent and use modern science and new technologies to tackle hunger.

Wal-Mart apologizes to black man for bad check accusation
Wal-Mart has apologized to a black man who was accused of trying to pass a bad check as he was buying thousands of dollars in holiday gift cards to distribute to his company's employees.

No festivities for the victims of globalisation
It will be a grim festive season this year for one group of as many as 45 000 workers and their families. They are the employees in the textile, clothing, footwear and leather sectors in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland who have lost their jobs over the past 12 months.

Strangers in the Dazzling Night: A Mix of Oil and Misery
Across Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, hellish towers of fire throw an auburn glow, scorching the communities that live under them and sending dark columns of smoke into the sky. They are fueled by natural gas, which is found along with the Bonny Light crude that makes Nigeria the second largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa.

Caribbean leaders meet with Cuba’s Fidel Castro to strengthen ties in the region
The heads of governments throughout the Caribbean will meet with Cuba today to discuss regional and international matters, including trade and development issues affecting the region. Cuban president, Fidel Castro and his delegation, will meet with the 15 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat* members, including Jamaican Prime Minister, P J Patterson, Trinidad and Tobago’s, Patrick Manning and their host, Prime Minister Owen Arthur in Bridgetown Barbados for the second Caricom-Cuba Summit.

Row over French law glorifying colonial history causes minister to cancel Caribbean trip
The row over the French government’s decision to retain a law teaching the “positive aspects” of colonial history, has been sparked off again after the country’s Interior Minister postponed his trip to the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe. Nicolas Sarkozy, who has become a controversial figure in the light of the riots that rocked France’s suburbs in October, announced he cancelled his visit to the country’s former colonies, following protests against his visit, scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Kenya's new cabinet sworn in amid discord
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki swore in a new cabinet on Friday but his effort to revive his administration was in disarray because nearly a third of the ministers and assistants named refused to take up their posts.

Integration of east African region crucial to development: Museveni

Rape charges end Zuma's hope to lead South Africa
Jacob Zuma, the popular deputy president of South Africa's ruling party, was charged with rape yesterday in a case that has ended his hopes of becoming the next president of Africa's political and economic powerhouse.

Castro reveals role in Angola, Namibia independence
For the first time, Cuban President Fidel Castro has revealed details of the large Cuban military participation in the war against South African troops in southern Angola in 1987-88. Some 55,000 Cuban troops aided the Angolan counter-offensive, that drove South Africans back to the Namibian border and to the negotiation table. The result was the independence of Namibia, President Castro recalls.

CIA prisoners "taken to North Africa"
Following the uproar in Europe over the alleged torture of CIA prisoners in prisons on European soil, Washington is reported to have moved the prisoners to "somewhere in North Africa" well ahead of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to Berlin and Brussels. While no concrete country is named, it expected that the CIA torture victims are now held in Egypt and/or Morocco.

Africa: Gays Call On Govts Not to Ignore Them
Gay activists at an international conference on AIDS in Africa have called on governments to acknowledge the existence and specific needs of the gay community in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Inuit upset at US about global warming

Sharks, Elephants, Abandoned Puppies and a Tiger of a Total Man
I vehemently oppose the killing machine that is called “the death penalty.” It is part and parcel of a more than 200-year historic national desire to perpetrate the killing of Black people – and Black men in particular. I can only hope and pray that Governor Schwarzenegger will extend his thinking about Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ case beyond his political “habitat.”

Art, truth and politics
In his video-taped Nobel acceptance speech, Harold Pinter excoriated a 'brutal, scornful and ruthless' United States. This is the full text of his address

Namibia: State Takes Over Two More Farms

History Out of Media Bounds

Eyewitness: "I Never Heard the Word 'Bomb'"

The West, Quietly, is Pillaging Iraq